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Definition of icefall
1 : a frozen waterfall
2 : the mass of usually jagged blocks into which a glacier may break when it moves down a steep declivity
From the M-W Editors
Recent Examples of icefall from the Web
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In 2014, the year an avalanche swept through Everest’s Khumbu icefall, there were 16 deaths.
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Atop K2’s near-vertical slopes, glacial icefalls dislodge car-size hunks of ice.
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However, these proposals present an economic conundrum for Sherpas, whose wages could be reduced because they are paid, in part, per trip through the icefall, according to Jennifer Peedom, director of the 2015 documentary Sherpa.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'icefall.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of icefall
1803
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